Paragon Bank delivers steady growth and strong lending
Solihull’s Paragon Bank has reported solid results with £2.73bn in new lending and steady growth across its core operations.
For the year ending 30 September 2024, the group’s operating profit rose by 5.4% to £292.7m, while statutory profit before tax saw a significant increase of 27% to £253.8m.
Lending activity remained strong, with £1.49bn in mortgage advances and £1.24bn in commercial lending.
The buy-to-let lending pipeline grew by 48.2% to £0.88bn, while the development finance pipeline expanded by 31% to £0.20bn.
Paragon’s net loan book increased by 5.6% to £15.7bn, supported by a 22.9% rise in retail deposits to £16.3bn, strengthening the group’s liquidity.
The bank continued its work with the Prudential Regulation Authority on Basel 3.1 regulatory requirements and reduced its TFSME funding balance, repaying £2bn and leaving £0.75bn outstanding.
Nigel Terrington, chief executive of Paragon said: “It has been another year of strong financial and operational performance, building on our consistent track record over the past decade, underpinned by the strength of our business model and long-term strategy.
“We have seen accelerating momentum throughout the year, with new lending levels reaching the upper range of our expectations and strong customer retention. Improving customer sentiment, robust year-end pipelines, and our strategic focus on specialist markets, gives us confidence as we enter the new financial year.
“Our savings franchise also continues to grow at pace, with retail deposits up almost 23%, outperforming the market, supporting our growth ambitions and providing strong liquidity. Paragon’s consistent focus on sustainable growth, enabled by an increasingly diversified and digitalised operating model, together with strong internal capital generation, puts us in a strong position to continue delivering superior returns to our shareholders whilst continually supporting our customers’ ambitions.”
